UN Arms Trade Treaty

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Tyler, TX (KETK) —
The United Nations has agreed to and signed an international arms control treaty.

The purpose is to control the flow of arms to terrorists and dictatorial regimes.

They’ve been debating this treaty since the 1990’s and most of the weapons covered are large, complex, deadly planes ships and tanks.

But, it also includes small, semi and fully automatic weapons.

And, frankly, for good reason.

The flow of arms, particularly small arms and the ammunition for them, is big business, both above and under the table.

Just the reported trade in small arms internationally amounts to 4.3-billion dollars, and neither China or Russia report their deals, so that figure is low. And where do they go? Drug cartels, rebels, terrorists and brutal regimes, along with legitimate governments and buyers overseas.

So the United Nations has approved a treaty to provide more transparency and accountability regarding who ends up with these weapons.

That worries gun rights groups like the National Rifle Association.

They say it will infringe on the Second Amendment. In that, they are wrong.

In fact, the treaty says twice, that each country regulates guns the way it wants to. And all through the treaty the phrase, “Pursuant to its national laws and regulations” appears. Then critics say, it will have no affect. In that…they have a good point.

The treaty is voluntary. The US doesn’t have a problem, and will have to make no changes, but for everyone, it’s the honor system.

It is telling though, the only three countries not signing on are Syria, Iran and North Korea.

Comments News Comments

HSMom2004 June 14, 2013 at 10:34pm

The person asserting that it will not infringe on the Second Amendment is wrong. See specifically, Article 5, for example. This requires that a "national control list" be created, sent to the UN Secretariat, and shared with all other nations (states). We do not have a national registry and should not have a national registry.

Also, each nation is encouraged to "apply the provisions of this Treaty to the broadest range of conventional arms."

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